Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Be careful what you ask for

Number 56.
Be careful what you ask for.
Occasionally, members will be in need of tools, props, equipment. Some facilities store such things for the sole purpose of being able to meet their members’ needs when they arise.

It is not unusual to have a member call in a request for a potty chair, cane, or other such hospital stuff. Sometimes, the asking comes as a surprise, say for such things as a popcorn machine, breast pump, or CPR dummy twins. More common are beggings for big paper pads or tripods, slide projectors, cotton candy machines, large print Bibles and Hymnals in Latin. A well-trained CL will not be rattled by any request. Church Ladies take it all in and then decide and sort. If, say for instance a call comes in for a hot lunch, if it happens to be your best friend, by all means, find it and take it. On the other hand, if someone calls for the name of someone who can take out their X, it would be a good idea to just let that one roll. Mostly, those folks have unlisted numbers anyway. As far as equipment requests go though, it is up to the CL to try to meet the honest needs of these requests. So, if a particular item is not to be found on site, then the CL becomes a resource to find one. This is where the careful what you ask for part comes in. Our example today includes a potty seat. One could not be found on site, so the CL sent out an email to a large number of the congregation inquiring about the availability of one. She had an almost immediate response and was thrilled. Today, three days later, she is getting calls from the same person who requested the potty chair, threatening to egg the church if another one of those damn travel toilets lands on her front porch. Apparently,in a very involved congregation, people like to be helpful.
More later- this church lady needs a potty break.